Travel pods featured a hatch at the rear of a vessel with a docking ring that allowed the pod to dock with a facility or vessel without needing to enter the shuttle bay; facilities and vessels were equipped with ports capable of docking such vessels at several different points on the ship. On a refit Constitution-class ship, there was a port on Deck 1, the port and starboard sides of the photon torpedo bay, and on the port and starboard sides of the secondary hull.

The travel pod was originally designed to allow for the rapid movement of personnel to and from a drydock or other facility to a starship without needing the vessel to enter the shuttlebay, which would require the depressurization and repressurization of the bay. After it was built, because of the large window at the front the travel pod also became a popular inspection car in drydock facilities for engineers. Starships such as the USS Enterprise carried two travel pods on a regular basis. (TOSreference: Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise)